Mattes's Musings by KC2GIK

Loggins and Messina are playing at Radio City Music Hall tonight. If a cute girl about 23 reads this, has a car and no boyfriend, call me.........my number is "easily accessible" on the net! Alright fat chance on all three happening within seven hours, but can't a guy dream. I can honestly say I grew up with Loggins and Messsina because my folks played their music all the time.' At the time I didn't know that Loggins was actually Kenny Loggins, who I have loved ever since I can remember... For those who don't know the story behind "Danny's Song" basically Loggins wrote it for his brother Danny and his wife who had a baby. Danny wrote a heatfelt letter to Kenny and in turn Kenny wrote his song, Danny's Song. Years later a girl I knew in high school had the tape of Loggins and Messina's Greatest Hits in it. She played to song one night when we were going out. When I opened the cover I read the story behind the song, I immediate wrote my ...

Original tit le I know but tonight is unique not because I am home alone at night, but because there's a mean storm outside! Call me a chicken, you can mock my cowardness but come on storms can do damage! I have seen storms do damage we all know that. When I was younger someone explained the thunder was angels bowling and lightning was God turning a flashlight on and off. Sounds good to me until I drove by a 100 foot tree struck down by lightning! Alright I may be overreacting but you get the idea. The home alone part is tough. Alright granted my folks never go out and don't go out for long periods of timpe, but it's ALWAYS AT NIGHT. I mean don't get my wr ong there are times I wish I had the house to myself. This is not the prblem, it's the night time I hate. I mean am I right here folks? Give me your opinion!! I wrote about a storm before and now this entry. People are probablly asking why am I writing about the weather, it's boring! Don't I have an...

First I would like to extend my thoughts and prayers to the surving members of the 9/11 attacks. Without rehashing everything I heard that day, one thing is for sure I never have felt more helpless than I did on that day. Although I know I'm not the only one. That being said I am going to take a slightly different approach.. that of a radio geek! As we saw a few weeks ago during the hurricane the high and mighty "digital and encrypted" trunked systems came crashing down during the first hour s of the storm. There wasn't anything anyone could do, the most sophisticated communication device, bullhorns and PA systems in patrol cars. The only way to get a message out was to do it via amateur radio, plain old over the radio waves. No computers, no special digital radios, just free and clear communication. Are the officials listening? Probabllyt not. While I agree there are times certain police communications ashould be protected, the same system failed the emergency servic...

Alright call me biased but I think ham radio operators really aren't getting enough credit. I have heard or read about the numerous communication failures when I know one communication aspect has been up and running constantly since before the storm hit, that's the HF (High Frequency) Net provided by amateur radio operators like myself! You know I cringe when I hear on the news "all communication is down". I along with other ham radio operators wished someone would say something about the efforts of our comrades in the south. Leave it to a fellow ham to bring our operations to the forefront! You can call half of us cazy, because we are, but when it comes down to it, we always come through. We were there in the wars from Veitnam to the current stuff in Iraq and we are coming through in not only Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, but were helpi So when one of us writes about we whe do in times of disaster, we all like to pass it around! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/...

As a writer and a webmaster I feel I have to assist the victims of the hurricane anyway I can. I have been posting the following message all over the internet. On mailing lists, bulletin boards and anywhere else I can get my hands on. So I might as well post it on my blog as well. Also below are so other links that might be helpful. This really isn't scanner related and I don't want to start a discussion about Hurricane Katrina but I am not only donating money to the Red Cross I am also putting a link to the Red Cross on http://www.bergenscanner.com I suggest folks with scanner websites do the same. This is something simple and only takes five seconds .. We need to show our support! PLEASE SUPPORT THE RED CROSS!! http://www.redcross.org/ Other useful links: Fema.gov MS Emergency Management LA Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness

Ok here's the deal about the last post, I held it off for a week because I didn't know if it was worth posting! I have been thinking about moving Bergescanner.com to a different serve, it has taken me two weeks to get the ball rolling. I have an open invitation to write another article for Plates Magazine, the sole consistant writing gig that allows me to publish anytime I want, but I can't get myself to start writing stuff down. I started this post at 4:24 PM, it's 5:00PM! The problem is I never prioritize! One thing leads to another and the cycle continues. I don't call it procrastinnatiopn but something's up. Shock of shocks last night my parents (well my mom, and then dad agreed) brought up going to the CP Conference together, which has always been their plan. However I am not really happy about them going. So my reaction was sayingf I don't know if I want to go, the point is I don't want to go with them. I would never actually admit that but I think...

By the title you would think I would be posting this from thr West Coast, but actually the folks dragged us up to Orange County NY which is about an hour away! This was a true genuine "family outing". It was of course the three of us, my younger brother Pete, my Uncle Matt and his girlfriend Shannon. Now I'm not going to claim to be a wine freak now, but I did buy my first bottle of wine. The question is when am I going to crack it open? Knowing this household it will be gone inside of a week but I might actually surprise everyone and let it age for a good long time. Any suggestions out there? I can't say. Although I'll tell you a did enjoy the wine tasting part of the trip, for the record there wasn't as much spitting at this winery as you see on TV. There now you kids can say I told you most of this stuff you see on cable is indeed fake. Now picture the six of us sitt ing around the table with a bottle of wine. I was tempted to shout out "where'...